Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Agnes Video Generator and AI video creation.
Browse by topic
Troubleshooting & errors
HTTP 503 queue-full, 401 invalid token, failed or interrupted generations — and how to fix each.
503 queue full and the Jimeng workflow
What to do when Agnes returns HTTP 503 / video queue is full, plus the full process and FAQ for producing clips in Jimeng instead.
Self-hosting & deployment
Local install, Docker, CLI startup, and how your data is handled.
Free tier & licensing
Why it is free, the free quota, commercial use, and how it differs from paid tools.
Quick answers
- What is Agnes Video Generator?
- Agnes Video Generator is a completely free, open-source AI video tool. It uses Agnes AI's free models to turn text descriptions into narrated, subtitled multi-scene AI videos. No subscription, no credit card, no high-end GPU, and no usage limits.
- How do I get started with Agnes Video Generator?
- Clone the GitHub repository (github.com/lcy362/agnes-video-generator), install the dependencies, set your Agnes AI API key, and launch the app. The whole setup takes about 2 minutes, and you can start making videos right after.
- Do I need technical skills to use it?
- Basic familiarity with running commands in a terminal is helpful for the initial setup. After that, the web interface is intuitive — just type your video idea in plain language and click generate. No coding or video editing experience is required.
- What types of videos can I create?
- You can create four types of videos: Simple Video (a single clip from one text prompt), Creative Video (multi-scene story videos with AI-generated narration and subtitles), Manuscript Video (convert long articles or scripts into narrated video presentations), and Digital Anchor (AI-generated virtual anchor with TTS narration and subtitles, looped into a complete anchor video).
- What languages are supported?
- The interface supports 22 languages: Chinese, English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Indonesian, Hindi, Turkish, Vietnamese, Bengali, Thai, Filipino, Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. Video narration supports multiple voice roles via Microsoft Edge TTS, including 4 Chinese voice characters.
Getting Started
What is Agnes Video Generator?
Agnes Video Generator is a completely free, open-source AI video tool. It uses Agnes AI's free models to turn text descriptions into narrated, subtitled multi-scene AI videos. No subscription, no credit card, no high-end GPU, and no usage limits.
Is Agnes Video Generator really free?
Yes, completely free. Text, image, video, and voice generation are all powered by Agnes AI's free models. No payment, no high-end GPU, no watermarks, no token limits, and nothing hidden in the fine print.
How do I get started with Agnes Video Generator?
Clone the GitHub repository (github.com/lcy362/agnes-video-generator), install the dependencies, set your Agnes AI API key, and launch the app. The whole setup takes about 2 minutes, and you can start making videos right after.
I want to use Agnes AI's free video models. What's the easiest tool?
Agnes Video Generator is built for exactly this. It wraps Agnes AI's free video models in a ready-to-use web tool — no workflow setup, no coding, no API calls, no high-end GPU. Once installed, the whole creation flow is already wired up. Open your browser, type your idea, and get narrated, subtitled AI videos in one click. Simple enough for anyone.
Do I need technical skills to use it?
Basic familiarity with running commands in a terminal is helpful for the initial setup. After that, the web interface is intuitive — just type your video idea in plain language and click generate. No coding or video editing experience is required.
Why is Agnes Video Generator completely free?
It comes down to Agnes AI's vision. Founder Bruce Yang put it this way: 'The solution is not to suppress AI, but to make it a more equitable capability.' Agnes AI offers completely free model APIs for text, image, and video, and this project is built on top of them. All the heavy computation happens in the cloud, so you don't need a high-end GPU — anyone can make AI videos for nothing.
How do I get a free Agnes AI API key?
Open platform.agnes-ai.com, register with your email (free, no credit card required), then create and copy an API key from the console. You can paste it into the Web UI, set it as an environment variable, or use it directly in the official online demo. See the 'Get a Free API Key' guide for the full steps.
Features & Capabilities
What types of videos can I create?
You can create four types of videos: Simple Video (a single clip from one text prompt), Creative Video (multi-scene story videos with AI-generated narration and subtitles), Manuscript Video (convert long articles or scripts into narrated video presentations), and Digital Anchor (AI-generated virtual anchor with TTS narration and subtitles, looped into a complete anchor video).
What languages are supported?
The interface supports 22 languages: Chinese, English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Indonesian, Hindi, Turkish, Vietnamese, Bengali, Thai, Filipino, Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. Video narration supports multiple voice roles via Microsoft Edge TTS, including 4 Chinese voice characters.
Can I customize the video output?
Yes. You can control video resolution, duration, generation mode, seed values, negative prompts, character reference images, custom end frames, and video chaining modes (keyframes/ti2vid/none). Subtitle styling is also fully customizable.
How does the AI narration work?
Agnes Video Generator uses Microsoft Edge TTS (text-to-speech) for narration. It generates word-level timestamps for precise subtitle synchronization. The narration is automatically created based on your video's script or story content.
What video resolutions are available?
Multiple resolutions are supported, including standard and HD options. The exact resolutions depend on the underlying AI video model capabilities. You can select your preferred resolution before generating.
Technical & Setup
What are the system requirements?
Agnes Video Generator runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It requires Node.js 18+ and a modern web browser. Since all AI processing happens via cloud APIs, you don't need a high-end GPU — your local machine's hardware specs are not a bottleneck.
What API keys do I need?
Only the Agnes AI API key. Sign up at agnes-ai.com to get one for free. It covers text, image, video generation, and voice synthesis — all powered by Agnes AI's free models. No additional configuration needed.
Does it support batch video generation?
Yes. The Manuscript Video mode is designed for batch processing — it takes a long text, splits it into segments, and generates videos for each segment sequentially with unified narration and subtitles.
What happens if generation fails or is interrupted?
Agnes Video Generator has a checkpoint resume feature. If a generation task is interrupted (network issue, system restart, etc.), it automatically resumes from the last successful checkpoint when restarted, so you don't lose progress. Most failures are caused by transient factors such as model service fluctuations, network timeouts, or rate limiting — click Retry Task in the failure panel first, and the task resumes from the failed step (checkpoint-based), usually recovering on its own.
What should I do when generation fails?
Most failures are caused by transient factors such as model service fluctuations, network timeouts, or rate limiting. In the in-app failure panel, click Retry Task first — the task resumes from the failed step, and most cases recover on their own without resubmitting. If it still fails after several retries (≥ 2), the feedback area auto-expands, letting you copy the diagnostic info in one click and jump to a pre-filled GitHub Issue without describing your environment manually.
Why do I get an "HTTP 503" or "video queue is full" error from Agnes?
Agnes runs a shared free inference queue for video models such as Video 2.5 Flash, and it can stay saturated for 10+ minutes during peak hours. When it is full, every submission is rejected with HTTP 503 · video_queue_full and the raw message "video queue is full, please retry later (request id: …)". No task is created, nothing is consumed, and nothing is lost — this is Agnes-side capacity, not a problem with your prompt or setup. Since v7.0 the app no longer counts a queue-full rejection against the normal retry budget: it moves to a dedicated retry track (up to 15 attempts by default, tunable via AGNES_VIDEO_BUSY_RETRY_ATTEMPTS), the first retry fires immediately and later ones are spaced 30–60s apart. Since v7.1 the failure panel and the create-task toast also suggest the off-peak windows when upstream is historically smoother, shown in your own local time. To avoid Agnes 503 errors: retry during off-peak hours, switch to another video model (Video 2.0 uses a separate queue and often still accepts jobs), or add more API keys — each key has its own quota. One more note from the provider: the Agnes China site enforces real-name verification from 2026-10-26 12:00 (UTC+8) — unverified accounts get a lower API call rate — and upstream expects 503 / queue is full busy errors to improve significantly after that point.
Why do I get 401 / "invalid token" errors even though my API key looks correct?
A 401 Unauthorized or "invalid token" response usually means the API Key does not match the domain it is being sent to — for example, a key issued on the global site being used against the China-domestic endpoint api.agnes-ai.cn (or the reverse). Keys issued for different sites are rejected when sent to the wrong domain. As of v6.4.2, each key can be bound to its own access domain, and a one-click Auto-detect domains button probes each key across com / cn / cn_bak and fills in the matching domain automatically. In the API Key panel, pick the domain that matches your key, or just run auto-detect. Global-site keys should use apihub.agnes-ai.com, or the cn_bak fallback domain (apihub.agnes-ai.cn, which accepts both domestic and global keys).
How do I get help or report issues?
Feedback is available both in-app and on GitHub. When a task fails in the app, the failure panel offers Copy Diagnostic Info and Open a GitHub Issue buttons, automatically attaching the app version, task type, failed step, error message, and retry count to help maintainers pinpoint the problem. You can also visit the GitHub Issues page (github.com/lcy362/agnes-video-generator/issues) to check existing reports or open a new one.
Is my data private?
Agnes Video Generator is self-hosted and open-source. Your prompts, generated content, and API keys stay on your local machine. No data is sent to any third-party servers beyond the AI API endpoints you configure.
Can I deploy it locally or self-host it?
Absolutely. The project is built for self-hosting: manual start.sh, Docker, npm CLI, or AI Agent — pick any of the four methods. The service runs at http://localhost:8765 with no external dependencies and no vendor lock-in. See the Self-Hosting Guide for complete commands.
Does it support Docker deployment?
Yes. Every release publishes images to GHCR and Docker Hub (linux/amd64 and linux/arm64) — pull latest and run, no Python or ffmpeg installation needed. Mounting the data directories is recommended so your videos and settings survive container recreation.
Can I start it from the command line (npm/CLI)?
Yes. npx free-short-video starts the entire service with one command (or install globally and use free-short-video / fsv). It supports --port, --host 0.0.0.0 (LAN access) and --no-open; ffmpeg is bundled.
Comparison & Alternatives
How does Agnes Video Generator compare to Runway, Pika, or Sora?
Unlike Runway, Pika, and Sora, Agnes Video Generator is completely free and open-source, with no high-end GPU required — all computation happens in the cloud. While paid tools may offer higher resolution or longer clips, Agnes provides the full pipeline — story generation, multi-scene video, narration, subtitles, and final output — at zero cost.
What makes Agnes Video Generator different from other free AI video tools?
Most free AI video tools only generate short clips from single prompts. Agnes Video Generator provides a complete production pipeline with five creation modes, AI narration, automatic subtitles, and multi-scene storytelling — features typically found only in paid professional tools.
Can I use it commercially?
The software itself is open-source under the MIT license. Whether you can use the generated videos commercially depends on the terms of the underlying AI model APIs you configure. Check the terms of service for each API provider.
Related Pages
Quick Start: Free AI Video Generation Guide
From getting a free API key to generating your first AI video — a step-by-step guide to Agnes Video Generator.
Text to Video API — Free AI Video Generation API, No GPU | Agnes Video
Programmatically access Agnes AI's free video models. Text-to-video, image-to-video, and narration APIs. Developer-friendly, zero-cost, no high-end GPU required.
Jimeng workflow FAQ (including how to handle Agnes 503 / queue is full)
How to fix Agnes video generation repeatedly returning HTTP 503 or video queue is full: the automatic retry mechanism, off-peak retries and resume, switching models, and the complete order for switching to Jimeng (Dreamina) for picture with subtitles and stitching done in this project, plus common questions.
AI Video Guide
From choosing the right tools to controlling costs — three in-depth articles help you master every aspect of AI video generation systematically, from free open-source models to online platforms, so you can start without a GPU and scale with confidence.
Data & Report Basis
Answers about AI video capabilities, costs, trends, and trust on this page are supported by the following authoritative reports.
- Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025Stanford HAI · Stanford AI Index 2025 (2025)
Stanford AI Index 2025's authoritative data helps answer common questions about AI video generation capabilities, costs, and trends.
- Digital News Report 2025: AI-Generated Content and Trust in NewsReuters Institute, University of Oxford · Reuters Institute Digital News Report (2025)
Reuters Institute 2025's survey data on AI content trust directly addresses user concerns about AI video quality and credibility.
- Global AI Video Generation Market Size & Share Analysis (2024-2030)Grand View Research · Grand View Research Market Report (2024)
Grand View Research's AI video generation market sizing answers industry-outlook questions.
Why you can trust this
Written by a practicing developer and cross-checked against authoritative primary sources such as arXiv papers, vendor technical reports, and the Stanford AI Index.
S
SandGrid@lcy362
Author of Agnes Video Generator · Full-stack Developer
Independent developer and author of Agnes Video Generator, an open-source (MIT) AI video generation tool built on Agnes AI's free video models. Has helped 1,000+ creators produce AI videos at zero cost. Focused on making video generation models accessible and production-ready; content is based on hands-on practice and primary research.
View on GitHubLast updated：2026-08-21
Ready to Start Creating?
"Making world-class AI belong to everyone." — Bruce Yang. It's completely free, no credit card, and you won't need a high-end GPU. Your first AI video starts at zero cost. Want to use Agnes AI's free video models? This is the easiest way in.
Clone the GitHub repo and launch in 2 minutes